Bridgett Redd, supervisor of the Holiday Lane department at Macy's in S.F., gets ready for shoppers.

Bridgett Redd, supervisor of the Holiday Lane department at Macy's in S.F., gets ready for shoppers.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

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Macy's in S.F. will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

Macy's in S.F. will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

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A worker at Macy's in S.F. preps its Holiday Lane department. The store will offer overtime to workers on Thanksgiving night.

A worker at Macy's in S.F. preps its Holiday Lane department. The store will offer overtime to workers on Thanksgiving night.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

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Supervisor Bridgett Redd straightens up Nutcrackers at Macy's in S.F. Black Friday will encroach on Thanksgiving night for some big retailers.

Supervisor Bridgett Redd straightens up Nutcrackers at Macy's in S.F. Black Friday will encroach on Thanksgiving night for some big retailers.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

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Some retailers give incentive for Thanksgiving work

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With many large retailers planning to launch their Christmas sales on Thanksgiving night, employees will have to leave their families earlier than they may want to man the cash registers, guard the doors and round up the shopping carts.

But some of the biggest retailers are trying to take the sting out of missing family festivities by offering premium pay.

Macy's, which is among the stores opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, will offer overtime pay - of time and a half - for the entire shift, including the portion that extends into the following day.

Macy's is offering the premium as a courtesy - and incentive - to employees who are working the Thanksgiving shift, spokesman Jim Sluzewski said.

More than 90 percent of the Thanksgiving shifts are staffed with employees who either volunteered to work or did not indicate a preference of schedules, he said.

"We are respecting the wishes of those who told us in a survey that they cannot work the Thanksgiving Day opening shift," he said.

Federal wage and hour laws don't require companies to provide special holiday pay to employees. Many labor agreements include a provision for premium holiday and weekend pay, but most retail employees aren't represented by unions.

The push for premium pay on Thanksgiving, however, doesn't appear to be coming as much from the employees themselves as much as activist shoppers, said Michael Brim, president of BFAds.net, which posts Black Friday advertisements.

Many shoppers are upset that retailers open on Thanksgiving and have taken up the cause on behalf of the employees who have to work, he said, referring to the comments that flood into his website.

"If employers are paying time-and-a-half, I think it does ease the burden of working on Thanksgiving Day," said Brim.

A welcome incentive

The incentive will probably boost the number of employees who volunteer to work the holiday while reducing the number who are upset about having to clock in while the rest of the family settles in to watch football.

J.C. Penney is opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, 10 hours earlier than it did last year.

Employees who work on Thanksgiving will receive time and one half, said spokesman Carter English.

And they won't feel alone. The company has launched an "all in" attitude for the holiday season and its corporate and other salaried employees will have an opportunity to volunteer at a J.C. Penney store of their choice for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, English said.

"They'll be available to help replenish merchandise, assist customers and spread holiday cheer," he said. The salaried volunteers won't receive extra pay.

By press time, Target had not released its holiday shopping hours for Thanksgiving Day.

"We'll be open at some point," said Anne Christensen, spokeswoman for Target in Minneapolis.

But extra pay or other perks? Christensen said she had no information to share.

While some retailers will provide premium pay, one retail expert predicts that many will not. Or they'll offer non-monetary benefits such as time off during the busy weekends.

An economic effect

"It's the economic environment," said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a retail consulting and investment banking firm in New York. People want the hours and retailers don't feel they have to provide extra incentives to get employees to work.

Ten years ago, retailers may have had trouble finding enough workers willing to forgo their pumpkin pie and family time to clock in on Thanksgiving, said Davidowitz.

But not today.

With one-sixth of the population living under the poverty line and one-sixth "1 inch away from poverty," he said, workers don't have as many options as they once did.